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[X] A warm blade that holds a promise

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Vincent takes the weapon into his hands. He feels its warmth upon the tips of his fingers. Closing his eyes, he can almost remember the half-ghost's gentle smile.

> "Protect Lady Yuyuko... save everyone.."

He grits his teeth as he forces himself up. The pain is excruciating, but he can't die here. Not yet. Not until he has kept his promise. He tightens his grip on the katana. It begins to glow, as if it has a life of its own. This weapon does not feel alien at all in his hands, despite having never trained with this type of blade before. For some reason, he feels that he can use it.

"Ah, creating more corpses is so much more fun!"

The cheerful necromancer sings to herself as she prepares the ritual. This is his chance. Ignoring the pain, he dashes toward the girl. Moving with inhuman speed, Vincent closes in. However, when he gets to the girl, she vanishes once more. In her place, something humanoid bursts out from the ground. He stops in his tracks and readies himself.

"Naughty human can still move? Good job! Good job! Ahahaha~"

He looks up. The girl is hovering high up in the air, out of range of his sword techniques.

"But I'm a little out of your league. Perhaps you should play with this one, instead~"

Vincent stares at the creature she summoned. It seems to be a well-built man dressed in the regal battle uniform of medieval Europe. He has long flowing hair, and an odd headband tied upon his head. His handsome face is calm and expressionless. The color of his face and skin is a startling white, and an ominous white aura is visible around him. Despite his human appearance, Vincent can tell that this person isn't properly alive. Then, he notices something oddly familiar about him. His eyes widen in horror.

In the dead man's hands is a heavy and dangerous whip.

"Oh shit," he mutters aloud.

In the next second, the man rushes forward and leaps high into the air. His whip unfurls at full length and smashes the ground with incredible force, leaving a large crack where it struck. Vincent barely manages to avoid this first attack. He pauses to think. He definitely isn't prepared to battle someone like him.

"D-die, you monster!" he cries out.

Yet, he has to try.

...

Vincent can't move anymore. That last hit must have broken several ribs.

"Awwww! Is it over already?"

Slowly, he opens his eyes. The necromancer girl has already landed. She mutters a few words in the cursed language. In an instant, the form of the legendary hunter dissolves into dust. Then, she pauses to take something from the pile of dirt. It looks like a single playing card.

"I guess you really are just another weak human," she says with a sigh. "You couldn't even defeat a badly made copy like this one. How pathetic!"

[Pathetic.]

"Too bad. Good bye then, little human~"

She snaps her fingers. A wall of blue flames forms in a circle around him. The searing heat burns painfully, yet the actual damage is slow. Is she planning to cook him alive? The bright flames force his eyes shut. Seeing only the darkness, he becomes even more aware of his surroundings. If this continues, he will definitely die. But what else can he do? She is right. It is foolish for a human to face the powerful creatures of the night. He isn't going to save Chen. He isn't going to save anyone.

[Giving up already?]

"I am going to die here."

[And what of your pride? What of your promise?]

"There is nothing I can do. I am too weak."

[Have you really forgotten your own strength?]

"How can I fight such monsters?"

[You fool! Don't you remember anything at all?]

"This is the limit of a human's power."

[A human's power has no limit.]

"I cannot fight back."

[You only have to fight the fear inside you.]

"I am only human."

[Exactly.]

"... what?"

[You were chosen because you were human.]

"Chosen?"

[Only humans can defeat monsters.]